Emperor of Japan abdicates throne, issues final imperial statement to people of Japan【Video】

Emperor Akihito’s 30-year reign, known as the Heisei era, comes to a close.

Much like with other titles of nobility, the Emperor of Japan’s position is granted for life. However, on April 30, Emperor Akihito made the rare move of abdicating the throne, something that hasn’t happened in Japan since 202 years ago.

As such, for the first time in any current citizen’s lifetime, an abdication ceremony was held, taking place in the Matsu no Ma, or Pine Hall, of the Imperial Palace, which sits at the center of downtown Tokyo, surrounded by moats, gardens, and forested grounds.

▼ Emperor Akihito, delivering his last address as Emperor of Japan

The Three Sacred Treasures, as the Japanese imperial regalia are called, were brought into the room (though within elegant cloth coverings, as the sacred items are only to be gazed upon by the emperor and the priests who convey them upon the monarch). Emperor Akihito and his wife of 60 years, Empress Michiko, stood on a dais in front of the assembled attendants, with other members of the royal family standing of to the side, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe read a statement thanking the Emperor for his long service to the nation since the beginning of his reign in 1989. “Today, as you resign from your position, we look back on the years and see that at all times, you felt the same joys and sorrows as the people of Japan, and on this occasion we feel anew a deep respect and gratitude,” the politician said.

Emperor Akihito then spoke, making his final official statement to conclude his three decades as the symbol of Japan’s traditions and values.

“As of today, my position as emperor is ended.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the sentiments Mr. Abe spoke of, as a representative of the people of Japan.

I am happy that in the 30 years since my ascension, I have been able to perform my duties in such a way as to earn the deep trust and devotion of the people. From the bottom of my heart, I thank them for their acceptance of me as a symbol of Japan, and for their support.

Tomorrow, the new era, Reiwa, will begin, and both the Empress and I hope it will be one of peace and prosperity, and we pray for tranquility and happiness for our country and people around the world.”

Akihito’s son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will assume the position of emperor on May 1, whereupon Japan’s Reiwa era will officially begin.

Sources: NHK News Web (1, 2)
Top image: Pakutaso
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Tommy Lee Jones cries, says sayonara to the Heisei era in epic new Boss coffee commercial 【Video】

The one-night special will be screened on Japanese television tonight, on the last day of the Heisei period.

Today is a historic day in Japan, as 30 April marks the final day of the thirty-year-long Heisei era. And as Emperor Akihito prepares to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne and hand the role over to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1 – which will mark the start of the new Reiwa era – Japan is taking a nostalgic look back at the past thirty years of Japanese history.

One company waxing lyrical over the Heisei period is Japanese beverage company Suntory, which is bidding a fond farewell to the era with a new commercial featuring the poster boy for their Boss canned coffee brand: Hollywood actor Tommy Lee Jones.

Jones has been appearing in Boss coffee commercials since 2006, playing the role of an alien observing humans in their element, and tonight, the company will be screening an epic two-minute long commercial on television for one night only, featuring some of Jones’ best appearances over the years.

Take a look at the special two-minute commercial, entitled “Alien Jones: Heisei Special”, below:

The special commercial is made up of past ads featuring Jones, all tied together with a narrative that comments on the social quirks and achievements seen by Alien Jones on this planet during the Heisei period.

The ad begins with Jones’ 2011 Boss commercial, which shows the “cycle of meetings and farewells” illustrated by one couple parting and another meeting on a station platform, with Jones in the role of station attendant.

The clip goes on to show Jones in a 2006 ad, where he brings drinks to customers as a karaoke employee and cries over the emotive singing of acclaimed Japanese enka singer Aki Yashiro.

He’s then pictured as a construction worker who remarks on the sense of accomplishment that can be felt by beings on this Earth, before stepping into the ring as sumo referee, from a 2008 ad, looking over the new heroes born during the period.

The clip ends with a montage of Jones’ best appearances, while commenting on the fact that “It’s not easy to know what type of era was created over the past thirty years, but one thing I can say is that people worked hard in the Hesei era.”

Given the amount of appearances Jones has made over the years, he’s definitely worked hard during the Heisei era. Here’s to many more years of Boss coffee commercials starring Alien Jones as we roll over to the new Reiwa era!

Source: Suntory
Images: YouTube/サントリー公式チャンネル （SUNTORY）
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Costume-less Chinese lion dance videos show real humans, real behind-the-scenes magic【Video】

Effortlessly twirling and leaping, these acrobats are amazing… even outside of their costumes!

The New Year is celebrated rather differently by the Chinese, often accompanied by loud firecrackers and everyone dressed in lively reds to usher in a fortuitous new beginning.

But perhaps the biggest thing that sets it apart from most New Year festivals is the traditional lion dance, where two performers in costume leap and dance across elevated pedestals to mimic a playful lion.

▼ No Chinese New Year is truly complete without one.

But not many people get to see behind-the-scenes, where performers practice for hours on end to drill their routine down to acrobatic perfection.

▼ These dancers can put gymnasts to shame.

Trusting their partners completely and landing with calculated precision that only comes with years of practice, the absence of costumes drives home the fact that the spirited lion dances we see boils down to pure human skill.

▼ Here’s an entire lion dance routine without the lion.

Yet despite all that hard work and practice, all it takes is a slip or a moment’s distraction to end the show.

▼ As shown in the opening seconds of this video.

▼ Let’s not forget about accidentally knocked down pedestals.

▼ But once perfected, the shows are nothing short of spectacular.

Japanese netizens were quite astounded by the way the dancers leaped and sailed through the air with ease:

“Do these guys even know what gravity is?”
“Those reverse somersaults are awesome.”
“It’s as if they have wires attached to their bodies to make them fly.”
“They’re not lions, they seem more like dragons!”

We can’t help but be amazed by how these dancers perform gravity-defying tricks and stunts that make us think they have jetpacks strapped or springs hidden in their shoes. Most of the performances are free, too, so be sure to check out these acrobatic lion dances at your local Chinatown when Chinese New Year rolls around.

Source: YouTube/Admin Jamie via Kotaro
Top image: YouTube/makanfree
Insert image: YouTube/BB Lion Dance
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ATMs in Japan are saying they’ll transfer your money back in time to 1989

Inadvertent time-travelling is thanks to the R1 bug.

Japanese convenience stores really do have everything, from beautiful desserts that look like a slice of crystal-blue water to craft beer bars. But just when we thought they couldn’t get any more awesome, one convenience store chain has apparently added its most amazing amenity of all: time machines.

On Sunday, Japanese Twitter user @RIORAO stopped into a branch of convenience store chain Lawson, where he used the in-store ATM to deposit some cash into his bank account. However, the machine informed him that due to a banking holiday, the funds wouldn’t show up in his account that day.

Instead, according to the photo @RIORAO tweeted, the funds would be transferred on May 7, 1989.

“Right now, you can use Lawson ATMs to transfer money to the past,” tweeted @RIORAO, and other commenters were quick to marvel at this convenient application of space-time manipulation.

“Are you a time traveler?”
“I was still a starving student in 1989, so I’d like to send my old self a few extra bucks.”
“In 1989 I was working in the bubble economy, so I’d rather have my old self transfer some of the excess cash I didn’t need then to me here in the present.”
“Hey, May 7, 1989 is the day I was born!”
“’The Deposit that Leapt Through Time!?’”

▼ A Lawson ATM/possible time machine

However, Lawson is indeed just a humble convenience store chain, and not a complex cover for a network of super-science agents who slip through the ages keeping us safe from time crimes. As such, what’s going on here is actually a programming glitch, and not a way to create an alternate timeline in which we’re all filthy rich.

As mentioned above, a banking holiday, coinciding with the Golden Week spring vacation period, is what’s keeping the funds from being transferred the same day @RIORAO is feeding the cash into the ATM. Golden Week isn’t the only big event going on in Japan this week, though. The even bigger story is the abdication of Emperor Akihito.

In Japan, the reign of each emperor is marked by an era name. For example, the era name for Akihito’s reign has been “Heisei,” which began at the moment of his coronation in 1989. Because of that, in Japan 1989 can also be referred to as “Heisei 1,” 1990 as “Heisei 2,” and so on, making 2019 also Heisei 31.

In modern Japan, most people use the Western naming convention for years in casual conversations, but the imperial era year system is commonly used in legal and financial documents. That includes many banking forms and systems, while the Lawson ATM user display shows Western years, apparently its internal programming runs on the imperial calendar, and that’s where the time travel glitch gets triggered.

Ordinarily, the ATM’s logic would go like this:
● Funds received April 28, Year 31
● Funds to be transferred May 7, Year 31
● Display May 7, Year 31 as “May 7, 2019”

There’s one problem, though. On May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor, the era name will change to “Reiwa,” and Japan will be in the year “Reiwa 1” (or Anime Porn Game Theme Song 1, depending on your exact interpretation). Apparently the Lawson ATMs have been updated to understand that, and so the machine registers the transferred money on “May 7, Year 1.” However, apparently the process to convert the imperial year to the Western year that the display shows wasn’t part of the update, and so the ATM is converting “Year 1” as though it were Heisei 1, or 1989.

That answer leads to an even bigger question: Internally, is the banking network the ATM is connected to taking “Year 1” to mean Reiwa 1 or Heisei 1? Will the transfer be recorded as happening in 2019 despite the user display saying otherwise, or is the banking system actually going to try to process the deposit as though it was made 30 years ago, and if it does, will @RIORAO suddenly be the recipient of three decades of accrued interest, at least until the bank flags it as an irregularity and makes a correction?

Those are just some of the things we’ll have to wait until the Reiwa period to find out.

Source: Twitter/@RIORAO via Jin
Photos ©SoraNews24
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Revealing Too Much

Development Head Adam Frucci, Production Accountant Shay Parsons, Katie, & Raph play "dealbreakers."

Revealing Too Much


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“Top 20 Best Breakfast Hotels in Japan 2019” ranking has our mouths watering in anticipation

With the exception of the #1 spot, one Japanese prefecture is clearly dominating the breakfast game. 

What’s the main factor that you consider when getting ready to book a hotel for your travels? The location, price, and convenience are all common choices, but today we encourage you to focus on one less common factor–the quality of the establishment’s breakfast.

On April 23, TripAdvisor Japan released their latest edition of the “Top 20 Best Breakfast Hotels in Japan 2019.” This year marks the tenth iteration of the list that’s calculated annually using an algorithm based on aggregate user scores. While the ranking takes into account hotels from across the country, it’s interesting to see how certain prefectures seem to shine more than others when it comes to the first meal of the day.

Without further ado, here’s the 2019 ranking:

20. Hotel Ocean Naha Kokusai-dori (ホテルオーシャン 那覇国際通り) / Naha, Okinawa Prefecture

19. Natural Hot Spring Nusamai no Yu La Vista Kushirogawa (天然温泉幣舞の湯ラビスタ釧路川) / Kushiro, Hokkaido Prefecture

18. Hotel Nikko Kanazawa (ホテル日航金沢) / Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture

17. Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay (ホテルオークラ東京ベイ) / Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture

16. Hotel Active! Hakata (ホテルアクティブ! 博多) / Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture

15. Hotel JAL City Nagano (ホテルJALシティ長野) / Nagano, Nagano Prefecture

14. Vessel Hotel Ishigakijima (ベッセルホテル石垣島) / Ishigaki, Okinawa

13. Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport (ホテル日航関西空港) / Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture

12. Hotel Nikko Kochi Asahi Royal (ホテル日航高知 旭ロイヤル) / Kochi, Kochi Prefecture

11. Kobe Kitano Hotel (神戸 北野ホテル) / Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture

10. Hotel JAL City Miyazaki (ホテルJALシティ宮崎) / Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture

9. Tokyo Station Hotel (東京ステーションホテル) / Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Prefecture

The lone Tokyo entry on this list, the facade of this hotel is almost as impressive as the famous station located directly across from it. Here’s what one net user had to say about its impressive breakfast offerings:

“The breakfast buffet in the atrium is open to hotel guests only. I was glad to see that there were plenty of both Japanese and Western-style options, and I regret not being able to try them all! It was bliss to have fresh ham and cheese first thing in the morning.”

8. Kanazawa Sainoniwa Hotel (金沢 彩の庭ホテル) / Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture

7. Shiroyama Hotel Kagoshima (城山ホテル鹿児島) / Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture

6. Hotel Rocore Naha (ホテル ロコア ナハ) / Naha, Okinawa Prefecture

5. Vessel Inn Sapporo Nakajima Koen (ベッセルイン札幌中島公園) / Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture

4. Hotel Clubby Sapporo (ホテルクラビーサッポロ) / Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture

3. Century Royal Hotel (センチュリーロイヤルホテル) / Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture

Ranking in at third this year is a posh hotel in Hokkaido’s capital city. The breakfast buffet includes a staggering amount of different options, including Chinese and dessert-themed offerings. One visitor noted of her experience that it was “The ultimate in delicious breakfast buffets. You can’t get fresh vegetables like that in Tokyo!”

2. La Vista Hakodate Bay (ラビスタ函館ベイ) / Hakodate, Hokkaido Prefecture

The #2 entry on the ranking this year goes to a hotel in Hokkaido’s third largest city. Because the #1 entry on the list isn’t from Hokkaido, that effectively makes La Vista Hakodate Bay the hotel with the most delicious breakfast in all of Hokkaido. Read what one visitor had to say about the food:

“This hotel is all about the breakfast. You can eat as much as you want of your favorite things, and before you know it you’ll have eaten too much. This includes piling the ikura (salted salmon roe) on top of a seafood rice bowl.”

We actually featured La Vista Hakodate Bay’s breakfast on our Japanese-language site in 2016. Click here to view our reporter’s mouth-watering photos from his trip to the establishment.

SoraNews24

1. Hotel Piena Kobe (ホテルピエナ神戸) / Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture 

Hotel Piena Kobe is now the undisputed king of hotel breakfasts for the seventh year in a row. It certainly seems to have a solid claim to that title based on net user reviews such as the following:

“I was floored by the breakfast here. I’ve never had anything better in all my years of business trips and travels. Extreme care is given to each individual dish to maximize its flavor, and even the dessert was prepared with extreme attention to detail. I was more than satisfied just by eating the breakfast, but the staff were also extremely courteous.”

We also sent one lucky reporter to sample the hotel’s breakfast back in 2015. Check out the English-language article from that experience with its wealth of photos.

SoraNews24

With the exception of Hotel Piena Kobe, Hokkaido hotels certainly seem to command the nation’s breakfasts with their unparalleled fresh seafood offerings. We look forward to seeing if a Hokkaido hotel can finally dethrone Kobe in next year’s ranking!

Source: TripAdvisor Japan
Featured image: TripAdvisor Japan
Images: TripAdvisor Japan (unless otherwise noted)
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The Planet of Horny Tech Support

Vin and Mara pay a surprisingly sensual visit to IT on the Router Planet.

The Planet of Horny Tech Support


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